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Passengers arriving in Ireland from non-green list countries could avoid quarantine if they pass a Covid-19 test upon arrival.
As reported by the Sunday Times, the government is looking to introduce rapid tests at airports as part of its new long-term ‘Living With Covid’ plan, to be announced on September 14.
HIQA is currently reviewing rapid test kits that can produce results in hours, with a view to having them in ports and airports by the end of the month.
Professor Sam McConkey of the Royal College of Surgeons says that it is important that the kits are accurate enough:
“False negative testing is a diagnostic and screening reality of every healthcare system, there is nothing you can do to change that.
“That will mean that there will be some false negatives and people will enter the country and walk.
Passenger location forms
“We need to measure that, so if that was only 1 in 100, then we can handle that, but if it’s 50/50 false negative, then that test would not be adequate. So it depends on the detailed performance characteristics.”
Last month, the details of a government plan to introduce “random” tests for Covid-19 at airports were uncertain weeks after it was first announced, as an increase in cases has led to other tests being introduced. measures to slow the spread of the virus.
The Government announced that the passenger location forms would become electronic and an increased number of follow-up calls for arrivals in the country was also confirmed.
Ireland has continued to implement a separate pandemic travel policy from the EU, remaining open to international travel and asking all travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Concern has surrounded anecdotal reports of tourists from countries with high rates of Covid-19 arriving in the country and not being quarantined.
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